Blazers Unleash the Dame-Ja Backcourt Experiment Against the Suns

The Portland Trail Blazers are officially rolling out the most chaotic starting five in the league on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns. According to Underdog NBA, Portland is starting Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan.

Pairing Dame and Ja in the same backcourt sounds like a video game experiment you try at 2 a.m. when you turn the salary cap off. It is an absolute nightmare for opposing guards to defend, but it also means there is exactly one basketball to share between two guys who usually need it to breathe.

"Underdog NBA reported: 'Lineup alert: Blazers will start Morant, Lillard, Avdija, Camara, Clingan on Wednesday.'"

Then there is the frontcourt, which is its own special brand of weird. Avdija and Clingan are arguably the two most important pieces for Portland's future, but they have been a statistical disaster when sharing the floor. They carry a minus-2.3 net rating together, meaning the Blazers actively lose minutes when their best wing and best rim protector are on the court at the same time.

Throwing Toumani Camara into the mix as the ultimate glue guy makes sense. He averaged 11.3 points and 1.5 steals in 78 starts previously and is basically out there to play defense while the guards take turns launching from the logo. For anyone looking at the totals or player props tonight, trying to project the usage rate in this lineup is like trying to predict the weather in a hurricane.

Portland is coming off a 128-118 loss to the Golden State Warriors last week, and they desperately need to find a rhythm. Avdija has been battling back stiffness off and on, and Clingan recently popped up on the injury report with an illness, so just getting this exact five on the floor healthy is a minor miracle.

We will see if the Dame-Ja backcourt can actually defend anyone, or if the Avdija-Clingan pairing can finally figure out how to play basketball together. If this lineup clicks against Phoenix, the Blazers might actually be a problem. If it does not, expect the rotation blender to start spinning again before they head to Sacramento to play the Sacramento Kings this weekend.